Permasmile | Al's of Hampden / Pizza Boy Brewing

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Popped the bottle to a rather alarming smell of pickles, sort of bread and butter-style. Truly bizarre (though I do like pickles!) Clearly some strong acidity was forthcoming. And, indeed, on the palate this was an absolute tooth melter, just brutally astringent. There's a sweetness in there struggling to get through, but it just can't compete with the puckering acidity. I don't know if I'd pin apricot/peach on this one. There's an underlying fruitiness, yes, but it's not well defined. I honestly don't know the bottling date on this, and I'm wondering if it was an older one, thus the dominating acidity. Either way, this wasn't very pleasurable to drink.

This beer was amazing. It is golden straw and pretty transparent. It smells like fresh peaches and apricots. So fruity, yet you get some funk. The taste is just as fruity but sour. It's acidic but not overbearing by any means. It is thin and carbonated perfectly.

I'm not the biggest fan of sours. I do enjoy them, but they are hit or miss for me. I could definitely see myself having this again if I were able to get my hands on another bottle.

Poured gently at 46°F from a 750ml bottle (batch 2) into a tulip. Consumed on 11Aug16.
SMELL: Gargantuan aromas of sweet peaches and apricots are supported by strong sour green apple and hay aromas, and mild aromas of earthy yeast, tobacco, oak, lemon, orange, grapefruit, tangerine, and green bell pepper. Subtle butterscotch aromas
4.75 out of 5
TASTE: The taste theatrical opens with a massive explosion of peach and apricot. An instant funk is established as strong sour green apple flavors and mild flavors of earthy yeast, tobacco, and oak burst onto the palate. Mild flavors of orange, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, and bell pepper roll out to add a spicy citrus characteristic as the tartness and tobacco flavors increase slightly. Mild flavors of hay quickly trail as the citrus flavors grow stronger. A touch of butterscotch sweetness enters lastly as the hay flavors grow to strong while all other flavors maintain.
4.75 out of 5
NOTE: I am loving these encounters with near perfect beers. Never before have I had a barrel-aged sour that contained such a dominating fruit profile. Even with such a dominance of peach and apricot, the beer itself was an extraordinary exhibit of balance. The only element that would make this any better, in my opinion, would be to either dry hop this or ferment this with mangos in addition to the peaches and apricot.